


Elsa and the Queer Rights Movement

by i_just_really_like_analysis (shrill_fangirl_screaming)



Category: Frozen (2013)
Genre: Essay, Gen, Meta, Nonfiction, i call this fan-non-fiction, nonfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-27
Updated: 2014-03-27
Packaged: 2018-01-17 04:09:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1373407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shrill_fangirl_screaming/pseuds/i_just_really_like_analysis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Because I am a queer rights activist and more than a little obsessed with the movie Frozen, I figured I'd write an essay analyzing the movie for how it represents the queer rights movement. Also posted to my tumblr.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Elsa and the Queer Rights Movement

**Author's Note:**

> So this is pretty much a cracky drabbly sort of essay I wrote pretty much immediately after seeing the movie for the first time.
> 
> Like many things I write, this is fan nonfiction, nonfic. I do this a lot, analyzing my feels about stuff because of reasons. Please comment about stuff I might have missed; writing is a perpetual work in progress!

Elsa and the Queer Rights Movement

Or, Why Frozen Is Secretly a Giant Coming-Out Story

 

            I saw the “Elsa is gay” theory before I actually saw the movie Frozen, and at the time, I laughed it off. I figured it was about as true as the “Merida is gay” theory.  People tend to assume girls without guys must be lesbians, so I didn’t put much stock in the theory. Didn’t even bother reading it (I hadn’t seen the movie yet, after all). However, after I saw Frozen, I understood. I am not here to argue that Elsa is a lesbian. I would lose that argument. Elsa wasn’t given any romantic plotline so we don’t have any clue what her sexuality is. My argument is that her orientation isn’t important, but her story is. Her story, her plotline in Frozen, can be used to promote the queer agenda so effectively, and no one seems to have noticed but me.

            Let’s start with the beginning of Elsa’s story. Ever since she was very young, she knew she was different. At first, her differences seemed harmless, but as she grew up she began to realize the impact they would have on her life, and more importantly, that of her sister. She feared the reaction people would have when they learned of her secret, and she feared her sister getting hurt. To hide her secret, she withdrew from social interaction with basically anyone and actively avoided physical contact with other people. Sound familiar? It should. At this point in Elsa’s story, her secret could be swapped from having ice powers to being queer and it really wouldn’t change the plot so much.

            It’s important to draw the parallels here because they illustrate life in the closet so effectively. A couple of things stood out with teenage Elsa especially: her motto of “conceal, don’t feel,”, her claiming that her powers are “getting stronger”, and refusing to be touched. Her motto is basically the closet anthem. It is a very succinct definition of the closet- it’s a place of hiding, of numbness. People who see Frozen can use this connection to show how miserable the closet makes people. Elsa is not a happy child. She is wracked with fear and loneliness. If this parallel was fostered, people would understand why the closet is such a big deal. She also claims that her powers are “getting stronger”. Welcome to gay puberty, I hope you enjoy your stay. Queer impulses do grow stronger during puberty. We start wanting to do the sex rather than just hold hands with people of the so-called wrong gender. Her panic and fear at the strengthening of her power foils the terror that queer kids feel as their differences grow more pronounced. Finally, Elsa pulls away from physical contact, both by clinging to her gloves and refusing to allow her parents to comfort her with contact. While the context is very different for a queer kid, queer kids do tend to avoid physical contact once they become aware of their queerness. Their radar for what others may construe as sexy touches goes onto hyperdrive, so queer kids retreat as to not let anyone know they’re queer. Basically, Elsa starts the movie Frozen in a closet of sorts, albeit one meant to conceal her powers rather than her sexuality. But hey, I call my queerness a superpower all the time. (“Do You Want to Build a Snowman?”)

            The next phase of Elsa’s life follows the reveal of her powers- her “coming out” scene, if you will. She gets upset and frustrated and too good at pulling away from people, and she uses her power to isolate herself from even the people she is closest to. At first, she freaks the fuck out and runs as far away as she can, which is the reaction many queer kids have when unintentionally outed. However, Elsa’s famous musical number “Let It Go” highlights the freedom that comes from such a decision- the ability to express oneself through that aspect one once hid, the freedom that comes from everyone knowing your secret. Frozen captures the duality of the coming-out experience so well in their movie- the combination of fear and elation- through Elsa that I cannot help but draw parallels between her experience and mine. It’s easy to transpose Elsa’s experiences into the life of a modern queer teen without making any major modifications at all.

            Additionally, I can’t not mention her physical transformation. Many queer kids do this too, especially the gender-nonconforming ones. Her previous outfit and hairdo was clearly a result of her upbringing. It featured gloves that served to actively hide her secret from the world, preventing her from accidentally or intentionally demonstrating her power. Many gender-nonconforming teenagers regularly wear clothes that have an analogue- skirts reinforcing unwanted femininity and the like. Her costume change seems shallow at first, but what are clothes if not a reflection of what we like and how we want to be seen? Her new dress and hairdo underlines that aspect of her she once hid. There are snowflakes in her hair, for crying out loud. Right after I came out I wore traditional lesbian clothes- plaid, jeans, boots. As we accept ourselves, we force others to accept us by refusing to allow them to deny us as we are.

            After this point, we get to see how society as a whole reacts to Elsa’s secret, with the Duke being a physical representation of homophobia. He has no reason to fear Elsa- she didn’t try to freeze him or anything- but he takes exception to her anyway, calling for her arrest for simply being abnormal, unusual. He literally encourages her death among his henchmen simply because she is different. This is the way of life for queer individuals in much of the world today, sadly. Anti-queer laws and policies in many regions of the world are encouraged by men like the Duke, who oppose not queens of countries, but queens of drag races. This character is arguably the most important in the entire show. Even at the end, when it has been pretty conclusively proved that Elsa is mostly harmless, he continues to be an asshole, refusing to take responsibility for his mistakes and trying to shift the blame away from himself. He is one of the major villains of the show- I can’t say _the_ major villain because if someone left the theater not wanting to gut Hans with a spork I simply do not understand them.  Anyway. He embodies ignorance, fear, and bigotry. Explaining this to kids shows them how a fear and subsequent hatred of the unknown can affect innocent people.

            The effects of Elsa’s great reveal also have an interesting impact on her sister Anna. Anna is not only forced to argue repeatedly with the forces of ignorance and homophobia, but she is physically worse for wear as a result. This metaphor isn’t exactly perfect, but the families and friends of queer youth do get hurt when their relative or friend comes out. They have to deal with day-to-day homophobia on their loved one’s behalf. Anna’s pain isn’t quite the same, but it would feel the same to Elsa- it’s her fault that her sister is hurting, and if she could only control her powers Anna would be fine.

            This brings me to the most interesting point of parallel in Elsa’s story, which is the overarching theme that fear turns her power into a curse, while love turns them into a blessing. This can be said verbatim about queerness as well. When one is queer and living in constant fear of bigotry and prejudice, it is easy to view one’s differences as a curse, a burden. However, when these differences are viewed through the lens of love, it is a blessing. At the end of the film, Elsa understands that love is the key factor in understanding her gift, and that liberates her from the yoke of fear that turned her gift into a curse. She is able to bring her sister back to life and openly use her powers without fear of bigotry and prejudice. She brings joy to her citizens and light to their kingdom through the correct use of her gift.

            Elsa also learns the power of self-acceptance during the movie. The number one killer in my community, the queer community, is suicide. Accurate studies cannot be undertaken, but me and my brothers and sisters are many times more likely to kill ourselves as well as suffer from such debilitating mental illnesses as depression, anxiety, and self-harming urges. These are usually brought on by internalized homophobia (or familial rejection, but that one tends to lead to our unspeakably high homelessness rate rather than our equally high suicide rate). Elsa’s road to self-acceptance shows how any difference can become a gift if one accepts oneself, completely and unreservedly. This, I’d like everyone to note, does not happen to Elsa until the end of the film. She does not accept herself completely in “Let It Go”. She accepts that she can’t change herself in “Let It Go”, but she still fears her gift and calls it a curse in the reprise of “For the First Time In Forever” when Anna comes to visit. She only embraces her gift as a blessing once Anna melts back into flesh and blood at the end of the film. At this point and only at this point does she truly stop viewing her power as a curse or a burden. This effectively resolves every problem in the story. The message? If you accept your differences, everything is awesome and sunshiny and perfect. I can’t think of a better message to send to young queer kids who might be watching this movie.

            And this, my friends, is why I care so much about this topic as to write 1,654 words (as of now) about it. The target audience of this movie is, regrettably, not teenage political activists. It’s kids. Young kids who don’t have opinions about sexuality yet because they are children. Young kids who are still deciding who they are and who they want to be. Young kids whose worldviews are still being shaped, whose morals aren’t yet written in ink. The messages they take away that are most applicable to the queer rights movement (Ignorance-born fear is a Very Bad Thing; accepting yourself is a Very Good Thing; being different is Okay) will prime them to grow up to become allies to the cause. More importantly, these messages preach acceptance, which is something this world sorely needs.


End file.
